To me, he exemplifies the term, 'gentleman'...
The notes just flow from his guitar... my guitars don't have the same notes... I've looked for them... the songs just so effortlessly come from him...
... and he so seems to enjoy the moment... his eyes light up... and after performing the song... and accepting the applause, he almost seems embarrassed that he has elicited that type of response for something he seems to do so easily...
It can't be my favorite song, because the next James Taylor song is, but the one that I think I most love to hear and see him perform is "Shower The People"... especially if Arnold McCuller is there to sing that wonderful part at the end of the song...
You can run but you cannot hide
This is widely known
And what you plan to do with your foolish pride
When you're all by yourself alone
In my life, I've tried to run and hide... but it hasn't helped... all I did was delay the inevitable...
Another one that gets me dancing is "Mexico"... OOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooohhhhhhhhh, Mexico... I've never been but I sure wanna go...
I'm not sure how many times I've seen him, but this has always been his closing song... the last time, he did three encores... he kept coming back out without the band... just him... and his guitar... and us... the crowd...
I guess that it's odd that I find peace and solace in the work of James Taylor... in his life, he has been one troubled soul... he suffered from bouts of depression... the fits of depression led to drug use and drug abuse... I'm not sure what the distinction between the two is, but I am sure there is one... he wrote a song that was influenced by his time in institutions and the death of a friend... Suzanne Shurr, or something like that...
'Just yesterday morning, they told me you were gone... Suzanne, the plans they made put an end to you...'
I saw him on some morning TV show a few years ago... and he openly talked about his drug past... he said he was lucky to be here... and that he had about ten opportunities to have died...
And he writes and performs these wonderful songs... I guess it is possible to find the calm in the eye of the storm...
As a side note, JT was signed and produced by Apple Records... the company the BeaTles owned... and he was the first non-British talent they signed...
~shoes~
I love how in-sync you are with your musical influences.... JT gotta whole lotta love to share with us, yeah???
ReplyDeleteXX
His songs survive the generations, they are that good.
ReplyDeleteSecretia
I like to define the difference between drug use (abuse) and addiction as follows. I have a tendency to abuse drugs. Use them or there unintended purposes or take more then the prescribed amount but I do not have an addictive personality so I do not get hooked on a substance. I do not crave it. I do not alter my life style to obtain it, nor do I put myself at risk to ingest a substance. Thant is my own definition though :)
ReplyDeleteHi, Bathwater... I guess I was thinking of it more so from an illegal drug position... like my kids... I know they use certain drugs... at what point is it 'drug use'... and when does it become 'drug abuse?' I have a recent event in mind that I am trying to process concerning my daughter... *shrugs*
ReplyDelete~shoes~
I've been kind of bothered today... forgot to reply to Southern Girl and to Secretia... please forgive me...
ReplyDelete* SouthernGirl.. I love music... and I love knowing about what makes these people tick... but knowing something about them, I think it makes their music mean more to me...
* Secretia... yes, his music transcends time... it's always wonderful... always nice...
~shoes~